Rising Mist
by Kai Kou
Summary: Tasuki is chased down by a group of mysterious black-claoked marauders who seem to want his life! He turns to Nuriko for help, starting a fight for his and his fellow seishi's life!


Rising Mist  
  
By: Kai Kou  
  
Disclaimer: This is a story set after the second OAV and has a twist to it. Nuriko and all the others have been reborn into their own bodies as if they've never died. Aged and all . I don't own any of Fushigi Yuugi although I wish I could lose myself in that dilusion! ^.~ Don't sue me, for the meager pay they give me would not keep a cat alive. If you have any praise or CREATIVE criticism, e-mail me at:  
  
kireta_kun@hotmail.com  
  
On with the story!  
  
~Kai~  
  
Tasuki teetered on the edge of the cliff, his arms flailing wildly. He regained his balance, and looked back up the trail at the men on horseback chasing him. They were gaining, fast. He started running again, and practically slid down the rest of the downhill trail. Pulling his tessen, he yelled the incantation desperately. "Rekka Shinen!" Watching the huge oak's trunk half disintegrate and crumble, he jumped out of the way just in time. He continued running, looking over his shoulder. The men were stalled by the tree, but he knew it wouldn't be for long. The minute he hit open ground, he raised his glyph and practically flew down the road. He was only a couple of miles away from safety. The night was turning into dawn as he reached the house. Pounding on the door frantically, he looked back over his shoulder. The black cloud on the horizon had to be them. The door opened, and Nuriko stood in the doorway, half clothed, and rubbing an eye sleepily. "Tasuki? What the-" Tasuki pushed past the dark-haired man, and stumbled into the house. Nuriko shut and locked the door and then turned to look at Tasuki, who was kneeling on the floor, panting, with his hands pressed flat against it. "Tasuki, what's going on? What happened to you?" Nuriko knelt beside the red- head and shrank back immediately. He had never seen such fear in Tasuki's eyes. Not even the usual bad-ass self-assurance could be seen. Tasuki looked up, his face pale and drawn. "Turn out the lamp." Nuriko looked toward the lamp he had managed to light before he opened the door. "What? Why? Tasuki, what's going on? Tell me!" Tasuki snarled and glared at Nuriko. "I said turn out the goddamn light! Just do it!" Nuriko complied, and then heard a disconcerting thud. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see Tasuki's lifeless form lying on the floor. Sighing, Nuriko picked Tasuki up, and waddled into the guest bedroom, trying his best to avoid bumping the younger seishi's head on the doorframe. He laid Tasuki on the bed and did his best to get him undressed and into the bed. Once he was satisfied that Tasuki was all right, he headed back to his own room. He laid back down to find he couldn't sleep. What had Tasuki been running from that had scared him so badly? Why snuff out the lamp? Nuriko sighed and tried to at least doze, the questions still tumbling about in his head. As the sun rose lazily over the horizon, several blackclad men stood on a ridge overlooking the house where their quarry rested. As the sunlight hit them, they dissolved like charred smoke.  
  
Tasuki awoke in a sheen of sweat, a yell on his lips. He looked about the room, getting his bearings. He brushed the damp bangs out of his eyes, and looked out the window. The setting sun had painted the whole room a deep red. Like blood... He shuddered and shook his head. Nothing good would come out of losing it now. Who knew if they were just waiting to come and murder both him and Nuriko? What had he gotten a friend and fellow seishi into? He got out of the bed, and wandered into the main room of the house. It was fairly large, and opened into a sitting room, dining room, and kitchen. A table and chairs were set up near the kitchen entrance. Nuriko was in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot on the woodburning stove. He was humming to himself, and jumped when Tasuki flopped into a chair at the table, causing it to creak. Nuriko whirled around and threw the spoon he had been holding at the source of the noise. He watched in surprise as the wooden spoon hit Tasuki full in the face, and caused him and the chair to fall over backward. "Oh Tasuki-chan! You're up..." Tasuki propped himself up with his hands, his legs still hanging over the chair. "Yes, I'm f*%@#$g up! Damn Nuriko, a spoon? What kinda f*%^&%n host throws spoons at their guests!? Why'd ya hit me anyway?" Nuriko turned back to the stove, picked up a replacement spoon, and continued stirring. "I should be the one asking 'why?' Tasuki. What was up last night? Why have you slept all day? What in the world could've made you as scared as you were last night?" Tasuki snorted and uprighted his chair, still glaring at the purple-haired seishi. "I wasn't scared. Where did you get a stupid idea like that? I just... was running from some guys and was tired. I needed a place to stay." Tasuki righted the chair and sat in it again backwards, warily watching Nuriko, who had turned around, hands crossed over his chest. "Yeah, just running. In the years I've known you, you have never just passed out from exhaustion. Did you run all the way from Reikaku? They would have to be pretty fast to not lose you out there." Tasuki looked out the window at the setting sun. "I slept an entire day huh? Didn't know I was that tired. So, whatcha cookin?" Nuriko walked over to his friend and fellow seishi, leaning against the windowsill. "Tasuki, why don't you just tell me the truth? What happened? I saw the look in your eyes. I've never seen you look like that. It's been a year since Miaka and Taka left. Don't you trust me?" Tasuki sighed and shut his eyes, pressing his forehead into the top of the chair back. "I do trust ya. I don't even know what was chasing me. They move so goddamn fast! They were a group of riders dressed all in black. Everything, their clothes, their weapons, their horses, all of them are pitch black. The only way you can see them at night is that their eyes and their horse's eyes glow ember red. I was just headin' back to the mountain, goin' back from doing some business when they jumped me. I got away, but they chased me in the opposite direction of the mountain. I got into some woods, and they disappeared with the dawn. I thought I was just seein' things, so I stayed in a tree trunk for the day sleepin', and was woken up by a f&^#$n sword comin' at my head. I ran all night, stoppin' only when I was way ahead. I used every trick in the book to lose 'em, but they found me, no matter what. Che. It's like the stupid scary stories you tell a kid at bedtime." Tasuki shivered, and looked up at Nuriko, his bangs falling in his face. "I know this is all real though. The pike I had with me is in the woods, cut in four pieces. I tried ta' kill 'em but they just wouldn't die. I knocked huge trees in their way, and they went over or through them! Like they were nothing! I just hope that they don't know what house I escaped into. I don't even know why they're after me!" Tasuki rose swiftly from the chair and began to pace the length of the room, arms crossed over his chest and his face pointed downwards. Nuriko got to his feet and went back into the kitchen. A tense silence came over the house, interrupted only by Nuriko's stirring. Tasuki continued to pace for a few minutes, and then yelled in frustration. Nuriko looked up in time to see Tasuki punch the wall in frustration. "Dammit! I know something's gonna happen! They're waitin' fer me ta come out and f&^%*$n die!" He punched the wall a second time, and slumped into the chair. Nuriko took the pot off the stove and began to ladle the steaming contents onto two plates. "Tasuki, you punch a hole in my wall and I'll kill you myself. Here, eat this. It's dumpling soup. If you think the riders will try something tonight, you should keep your strength up ne? You shouldn't worry so much, it's not good for you. You seem to forget that I'm a seishi too. Together, we can beat them! So eat your dinner and calm down." Tasuki picked up his chopsticks and started to eat. Nuriko did likewise, and looked up to see Tasuki staring at him with a lopsided grin. "What in the world are you smiling about?" Tasuki popped another dumpling into his mouth and swallowed. "The next thing I expect you to say is that I'll choke if I don't chew enough. You just sounded like my ma with that entire speech." Nuriko sipped some soup out of the bowl and smiled evilly. "You know, I'll have to meet your mother one of these days. I have so much to tell her about her dear son and all the wonderful things he does." Tasuki choked, and hurriedly drank some soup. "You wouldn't dare." "I would, and you know it. Poor Tasuki-chan, he needs to be good or his mom'll-" Tasuki sat straight up in his chair and looked wildly around. "What was that?" Nuriko listened for a moment and shook his head. "What was what? I didn't hear anything." Tasuki stood and cautiously stalked next to the window. He peered out a bit, and then violently jerked his head back. "Oh shit!" He dove away from the window and threw himself beside Nuriko, who was still watching in bewilderment from the table. Nuriko looked out the window and then down at Tasuki. "What happened?! Are you okay, or were you just jumping at shadows?" Tasuki was still staring at the floor, shaking his head. He looked up at Nuriko, blood trickling down the right side of his face. Nuriko stared in horror as Tasuki traced the blood to its source, a huge gash across the red- head's temple. Nuriko jumped out of his chair and knelt beside his friend, pushing back his bangs to see better. "Oh gods... What happened? Did you catch yourself on a nail or something?" Tasuki bared his fangs and stood up, nearly throwing Nuriko to the floor. He walked to the window and stood in front of it, a snarl on his lips. "C'mon ya bastards! Come and get me! Yer all too scared ta face two seishi huh? Well, if yer so big an bad, come and get us! There's enough of ya!" Nuriko stood, and looked out the window at what Tasuki was yelling at. Nearly twenty riders, all dressed in black were outside his house, armed to the teeth. Nuriko backed away from the window in shock. "They're real....." He backed up to the table, and almost tripped. As he steadied himself, the riders charged. Bits of wood and other debris flew as the horses plowed through the window sill and the wall surrounding it. Nuriko jumped back beside Tasuki and stared in horror as the horsemen started into the room. "Tasuki, what the hell did you do to these guys!" Nuriko turned to find that Tasuki was backing away into the guest bedroom door, and slipping through it. Nuriko followed, feeling the riders come after them. Tasuki made it to the windowsill and was halfway out of it when he heard Nuriko scream. He looked over his shoulder to see one of the horsemen unmounted holding Nuriko by the waist beerbarrel style. Nuriko was screaming and yelling, "Let me go!" at the top of his lungs as the dark shadow stood still. Nuriko tried to pull the thing's arm away from himself, his bracelets already red and gold gauntlets. He pulled as hard as he could, and the arm didn't budge one bit. He started to pound on the thing's legs and groin, whatever was in reach. Tasuki watched in shocked horror as the rider cuffed Nuriko on the side of the head, and the purple-haired seishi went limp. The rider watched Tasuki steadily as he grabbed Nuriko by the throat and began to squeeze. Small chocking sounds escaped from Nuriko's mouth, sounding weak already. Tasuki turned in the sill and watched in shock, not believing he was seeing Nuriko dying, again. "Stop it goddammit! Stop!" The rider stopped and made a motion for Tasuki to come back inside completely. As Tasuki complied, the rider dropped Nuriko to the floor with a thud. Tasuki bent down to pick up Nuriko from the floor muttering, "Damn I hate ultimatums." He headed back into the living room, the riders all gathered in a group. He pushed past the horses and riders to lay Nuriko on the newly cleared table. The house was in shambles, and the riders all faced him. Tasuki considered the odds, and decided that if he was going to die and so was Nuriko, they would go out in a blaze. He pulled the tessen from his bandoleer, and recited the incantation. As flame engulfed the riders, shrill screams and whinnies could be heard. Tasuki watched in shocked fascination as the riders shrank back from the flames, dissipating rapidly. All he could think of was the trouble he could've saved if he had just used the tessen in the first place. A Pike. What the hell had he been thinking? He had used the f*&^$%n pike instead of the tessen... Dammit! He bent down, picked up Nuriko from the table, and ran through the hole the riders had created. He headed up the hill and laid Nuriko back down, observing the flames. He was fortunate he had taken the time to dress and pull on his boots when he had gotten up. Nuriko awoke to find his house in flames, with smoke billowing thickly into the night sky. "My house!!!!! Tasuki, what the hell did you do?!" Tasuki shrugged and leaned against a tree. "It got rid of them didn't it?" Nuriko glared venomously at Tasuki, and turned back to his burning house.  
  
*********  
  
The sun rose to find two beraggled figures walking down the road, one kicking up a small cloud of dust. "Hey Nuriko, how 'bout we stop and rest for awhile? I'll light a fire and we can-" Nuriko turned swiftly, and picked up a rock. "Oh yeah, a fire Tasuki. Just like there was a fire at my house. Tasuki ducked behind a tree as Nuriko threw the rock at him. "Oh c'mon Nuriko! That's in the past! We'll go to the palace and get Hotohori to get you a new house! He likes you doesn't he?" Nuriko whipped back around to continue down the road. "I made that house by myself. I built it all, designed it all. It can't be replaced. And I won't mooch off of Hotohori! As for it all being in the past, it happened five hours ago! Just don't talk about it anymore. Quit following me!" Tasuki came back out from behind the tree and ran after Nuriko to catch up. "Oh c'mon Nuriko! I'm sorry I destroyed yer house! Slow down already! Ya can't be mad forever!" Nuriko continued on, in the direction of the Eiyo and the palace, as the rising sun painted everything a rich gold. 


End file.
